Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a rear package tray in a passenger vehicle, and more particularly to a rear package tray structure in which empty spaces each having a closed section are formed in side members and package members, and are connected to one another, to communicate with each other, thereby forming an annular space extending in left, upward, right and downward directions.
Description of Related Art
A rear package tray in a vehicle (in particular, a passenger vehicle such as a hatchback, a sedan or a coupe) is a vehicle body structure arranged to partition a trunk compartment from a passenger compartment in the vehicle. The rear package tray is formed at the vehicle body between a position where a rear seat is mounted and a position where a trunk compartment is formed, to reinforce the vehicle body.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a conventional package tray is shown. As shown in FIG. 1A, the conventional package tray includes a tray member 1, and side members 2, which form a rectangular shape, together with the tray member 1. Each side member 2 includes an inner side member 2b and an outer side member 2a. The tray member 1 includes an upper tray member 1a and a lower tray member 1b. 
The outer side members 2a are mounted to opposite sides of a floor panel 2, to form semicircular rear fenders to be disposed over positions where rear wheels are mounted, respectively. A suspension strut 8 is mounted beneath each outer side member 2a. The inner side members 2b stand vertically from the floor panel 2 inside respective outer side members 2a. The tray member 1 is disposed on upper ends of the inner side members 2b, to extend in a lateral direction of the vehicle body.
The tray member 1 and side members 2 are structures not only functioning to partition the trunk compartment from the passenger compartment, but also functioning to enhance rigidity of the vehicle body and, as such, an additional reinforcement member is mounted to the structures, or a steel plate having a higher rigidity is used for the structures.
Meanwhile, by law, safety belts must be mounted to a rear seat and, as such, retractors of the safety belts are installed at the package tray. In the conventional structure, mounting of each retractor is achieved by additionally mounting an upper quarter side member 5 and a lower quarter side member 4 to respectively connect the upper tray member 1a and lower tray member 1b to a quarter panel 7, and then inserting the retractor into a hole 6 formed through the upper quarter side member 5. For reference, a front package side member 9a and a rear package side member 9b are coupled to front and rear sides of the upper quarter side member 5 and lower quarter side member 4, respectively, and, as such, upper ends of the front package side member 9a and rear package side member 9b form the upper tray member 1a, and lower ends of the front package side member 9a and rear package side member 9b form the lower tray member 1b. 
However, in the conventional structure in which holes 6 are formed through the upper quarter side member 5 and lower quarter side member 4, as shown in FIG. 1B, degradation of rigidity may occur. Therefore, a rear package tray having a structure capable of solving such a problem is needed.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.